Meritage Portfolio Management Sells 23,969 Shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. $CBSH

Key Points

• Meritage Portfolio Management cut its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 61.4%, selling 23,969 shares in the quarter and retaining 15,065 shares valued at $789,000.
• Insiders reduced exposure as well: CEO John W. Kemper sold 23,397 shares in February (part of 29,477 insider shares sold last quarter) while a director purchased 2,500 shares; insiders now own 1.8% of the company.
• Analysts have a consensus Hold rating (one Buy, eight Holds) with a $60.47 average target; CBSH trades around $50.59, yields ~2.2%, and recently reported a slight EPS beat ($0.96 vs. $0.94) with revenue modestly below estimates.

Meritage Portfolio Management cut its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH - Free Report) by 61.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,065 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 23,969 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management's holdings in Commerce Bancshares were worth $789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 85.4% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 469 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Commerce Bancshares by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 865,052 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $53,780,000 after purchasing an additional 16,610 shares in the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 10,151 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $631,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth $376,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 208,148 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,941,000 after buying an additional 9,483 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CBSH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a research note on Friday, March 27th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $61.00 to $55.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Commerce Bancshares and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $60.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $56.00 to $54.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.47.

Commerce Bancshares Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of CBSH stock opened at $50.59 on Wednesday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $50.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.87. The company has a market cap of $7.43 billion, a PE ratio of 12.07, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.60. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.99 and a 12-month high of $63.19.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.02. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 15.34% and a net margin of 26.51%.The firm had revenue of $475.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $481.94 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Commerce Bancshares's payout ratio is presently 26.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John W. Kemper sold 23,397 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.99, for a total value of $1,263,204.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 206,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,150,446.72. This trade represents a 10.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy S. Dunn bought 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $47.71 per share, for a total transaction of $119,275.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,403 shares in the company, valued at $257,777.13. The trade was a 86.12% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,477 shares of company stock valued at $1,586,655. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Commerce Bancshares Profile

Commerce Bancshares, Inc is a bank holding company primarily engaged in providing a broad range of banking and financial services across the Midwest. Through its principal subsidiary, Commerce Bank, the company offers commercial and consumer banking, treasury management, trust and wealth advisory, and mortgage lending. Its diversified product suite includes deposit and loan products, cash management solutions, capital markets services, and private banking designed to meet the needs of individuals, small businesses, and large corporations.

The company's commercial banking group delivers tailored credit facilities, equipment and inventory financing, asset-based lending, and merchant services.

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